In the early to mid-20th century, both single and double edge safety razor tools were developed to replace the straight edge razor. Gillette® and Schick® were major competitors in this market. Some of the disadvantages of these early safety razors were:
i) the head of the blade tool holding the blade did not pivot;
ii) the handle and head of the tool were not ergonomically designed; and
iii) the replaceable blades were made of materials that quickly caused the blade to become dull and rusted, thereby limiting the number of shaves with the razor before the razor blade needed to be replaced.
More recently the leaders in the shaving razor industry have focused on developing and refining pivotable head, multiple-blade cartridge razor tools where the multiple blade cartridge was easily replaceable, thereby providing the manufacturer with a continuing market for replacement razor cartridges. Although the initial cost of the pivotable head, multi-blade cartridge razor tool is moderate, the price of the replaceable multiple blade cartridges continues to escalate with each new design release and the materials used for the cartridges and blades are not durable, such that the cost of a shave continues to increase.
Therefore there is a need for an ergonomically designed, pivotable head, single blade razor with replaceable single edge blades made of more modern materials that remains sharp for many shaves.
The following United States patents and published application provide additional background information:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,184 discloses slot blade holder consisting of a mechanism for securing the rear flange of a standard single edge razor blade at its central aperture (FIGS. 1-5; Column 2, Lines 12-44; Claims 1-6).
2002/0066186 discloses a blade formed from a single crystal ceramic material with mounting and positioning the blade (cutting element) in a blade unit, and guard element is disposed forwardly of the cutting edge and extends parallel thereto (FIGS. 1; Paragraphs [0009]-[0011]; Claims 2-7).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,824 discloses permitting the razor head to move relative to the razor allowing a razor head to swivel and also to pivot about an axis normal to a central axis of the razor and normal to an imaginary axis defined by the points of attachment of the razor to a razor head (FIGS. 1-3; Column 2, Lines 50-64; Claims 1-16).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,265 discloses razor head with a compartment extending from a head frontal opening to a head rearward opening, the drawer into its forward position, cause the blade cutting edge to be exposed through the bridge to a controlled extent at the proper cutting angle, resilient means are employed to bias the drawer into its retracted position upon release of the latch means to expedite blade interchange and cleansing (FIGS. 1-4; Column 2, Lines 44-68; Claims 10-12).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,067,512 discloses razor comprising a pair of blade clamping members with novel cutting edge guard which means movable relatively thereto from normal safety position; to two successive operating positions (FIGS. 1-4; Column 2, Lines 16-55; Claims 1-5).